Building construction



May 5, 1936. B. LONDON BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 14, 1934 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Bernard L oncion BY QW M FM ATTORNEYS y 1936- BLONDON 2,039,601

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 14, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I IN NTORATTORNEYS er '0Z London y 1936. B. LONDON BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FiledNov. 14, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 13 em ard London ATTORNEYSPatented May 5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.039501 BUILDINGCONSTRUCTION Bernard London, New York, N. Y. N Application November 14,1934, Serial No. 752,9 9 '27 Claims. (01. 72-16) This invention relatesto building construction.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a buildingconstruction that will be inexpensive, thoroughly practical, durable,and characterized by suchflexibility of arrangement, in-

terrelation, or shaping of the various parts as will meet the widelyvarying conditions of prac- Y Another object is to provide aninexpensive... light but strong building material unit capable of easeand speed in assembly with other like units to form inside or outsidewalls, partitions, flooring, ceilings, roofing, andthe like. Anotherobject is to provide a building material unit for walls, partitions,orother portions of a building or house but constructed in "such a waythat, when assembled with other like units, the assemblage provides thedesired inside and outside decorative, mechanical, or like finishappropriate to the reliable functioning of the respective outside orinside surface or surfaces of the structure. Another object is toprovide a building material unit which, when assembled with like unitsto form a wall or other portion of the building, will provide interiorlythereof appropriate passages or channels-for the accommodation of pipingsuch as is used for the usual plumbing purposes, and for electricalcircuits, conduits, or the like.

Another object is to provide a building mate- 4; rial unit that may beinexpensively produced and that will readily lend itself to quantityproduction. Another object is to provide a unit of the above-mentionedcharacter that will be of low first cost and, moreover, in so far as itserection or assembly with like units is concerned to form a wall orother portion of the building, will notrequire highly skilled labor andwhereby, accordingly, erection of the building may be carried onspeedily and at low cost. I

Another object is to provide a building material unit that will besubstantially self-contained in possessing 'the" desired mechanical,thermal, and other properties appropriate to providing at once suchfactors as (a) the desired and weatherproof outside material or finish,(b) the desired or other appropriate inside finish suitable for insidesurfaces, walls or the'like, (c) any desired decorative effect oreffects for the outside surface or material, (d) the desired insidedecorative effect or effects, (e) appropriate mechanical '5 rigidity andstrength, (1) appropriate heat insulation or resistance to heatpassagetherethrough, (g) facility and speed of installation or assemblythereof with other units, and others. v

Another object is to provide a building material unit well adapted to becapable of manufacture in standardized sizes or shapes, whereby, uponthe selection of appropriate numbers of appropriately mentioned orshaped units, any. desired design or architectural construction ofbuilding may be achieved upon the assembly of the selected standardizedunits- Other objects will'be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists inv the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, all as will beillustratively described herein, and the scope of the application ofwhich will be indicated in the following claims. I 5

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown several of the variouspossible embodimerits of certain features of my invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view as seen from the inside of a corner of abuilding, showing two corner walls and the ceiling and floor;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through an outside wall and aninside partition wall, indicating certain features of my buildingmaterial units and their interrelation with each other and certain otherpossible parts;

Figure-3 is an exploded perspective view showing, in perspective, theseveral parts that may be interrelated to each other to make a buildingunit;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view,

certain parts being broken away or omitted,

showing more in detail a preferred arrangement of floor or ceilingconstruction and a preferred arrangement of relating a floor or ceilingconstruction to the upper end of a wall;

Figures 5 and 6 are fragmentary cross-sectional or end view on a largerscale of possible other forms which certain parts of my building unitmay take;

Figure 7 is a view like'those of Figures 5 and 6 showing in endelevation a fragmentary portion of another form of building unit, and

Figure 8 is a sectional view as seen along the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

portion of the ground floor of such a building.-

There is therefore seen in Figure 1 a foundation A, a side wall Bmakingan angle, illustratively a 90 angle, with another side wall C,walls B and C following the contour of the foundation A, the latterbeing of any suitable construction or material, illustratively ofconcrete. There is also shown a fragment of the floor D and a fragmentof the ceiling E, the latter forming, of course, also the floor of thestory over-head.

I fnay, of course, provide, where desired,. inside or so-calledpartition walls, though for greater simplicity of illustration, I havenot shown such a'partition wall in Figure 1, but in Figure 2, wherein Ihave shown. in horizontal cross-section a portion of the outside wall ofthe building and which outside wall may be the wall 13 or thewall C ofFigure 1, there is shown at F,

also in horizontal cross-section, a portion of av partition or' insidewall, the latter being of lesser thickness than the former, though bothembody the features of my invention. For greater facility ofunderstanding and of description, therefore,

. reference may first be made to the details of construction of theinside partition or wall F of Figure 2, the detailed and preferredconstruction of the outside wall or walls beingaccordingly reserved forlater description. In Figure 3 I have shown in exploded perspective theparts of a section or building unit of a number of which the inside wallF is constructed and inasmuch as the units'of which the outside wallsare made have numerous features in common with the units of which theinside 'or partition wall F is made, and'accordingly detailedconsideration may now be given to the parts shown in Figure 3 which areassembled to form a building unit, bearing in mind the assembly of theseparts as shown at F in Figure 2.

What I have above termed as building con-'- struction units or as abuilding unit comprises preferably a block-like structure, preferably ofsubstantial dimensions as to length and breadth or height andbreadth,embodying certain features of my invention, and capable of readyinterfitting and assembly of a relatively small number thereof to form arelatively large wall or other portion of the building. For example, theunit may be and preferably is dimensioned to have a width of'several'feet and a length or height preferably in. excess of its width,having, of course, a thickness appropriate to .the particular purposewhich the unit is to meet. For example, I may make up the'units, ofappropriate wall thickness, to have a width of five feet and a lengthorvertical heightof ten feet, the latter dimension approximating theaverage height of a room, and the walls may be built up of the necessarynumber of such units.

Or, by way of further illustration, I may dimension the units as isindicated generally in stated dimensions are merely illustrative and areset forth not by way of limitation.-

With the above preliminary understanding of the preferred order ofdimensions of the units and recurring to Figure 3, in which thecomponent parts of a'unit intended particularly for an inside wall orpartition are shown, I make up the parts Ni, II, II, l 3 and it (Figure3) as about to be described and assemble them to form a singlestructural unit, all as hereinafter described. l

Where the two exposed faces of the structural unit are to have the samephysical characteristics, as is usually the case with an inside-wall orpartition, the parts or members l0 and M of Figure 3 may be of the samematerial, and any appropriate material capable of fabrication intosizes,

dimensions, or shapes, as abovementioned, may

upper face of member I and the under face of member H, as viewed'inFigure 3) may be glazed. Likewise, where the members It and are thuspreformed or cast, any desired surface decoration or decorative efiects,including coloring, tinting, or the like, on these exposed surfaces maybe permanently incorporated therein; for example, theseparts may bemade'of so-called artifirjcial stone and treated or made in any desiredway to give any desireddecorative effect or appearance, such as, forexample, imitation marble, or-the like. Members l0 and I 4, particularlywhere they are to form part of a' structural unit to be embodied in aninside wall or partition, may also be made of so-called plaster-board,maze-wood, fiber-wood, fiber-board, card-board, asbestos compositions,or any other'appropriate or suitable material. They may also be made ofsheet-rock or. appropriately dimensioned slabs of natural stone} It isto be understood, however, that the two outside members I 0- of thestructural unit need not be made of the same material; one of them maybe made of one material and the other of any other material; likewiseone of them may have permanently incorporated in its outside sur-. faceone decorative motif, tint, coloring, or the.

like, and the other member may have some other decorative motif, tint,coloring, or the like.

Members I 0 and I! may thus be fabricated in standardized shapes anddimensions and it'will be seen that they per se lend themselvesreadilyto quantity production. In length and breadth they are dimensioned asearlier above indicated to correspond to the length and breadth of theultimate buildingor structural'unit; in thickness they may be anysuitable dimension, on the order of or /21 or thereabouts. I

Members II and I3 are preferably of identical construction to facilitatequantity production thereof though it is to be understood that they mayvary one from the other in various or desired particulars. As shown in.

of their similarity of construction, it will suilice to describe onlyone of the parts H and I3 in detail and hence detailed consideration maynow 75 be given to member H of Figure 3, the detailed description ofwhich is equally applicable to member l3.

Member II is preferably made of a motif or plastic materialand is castor pressed in a suitable mold having separable parts, each containingrecesses and protrusions, the protrusions in the one entering but notfilling the recesses in like that of part II, asshown in Figure 3.

Accordingly, it will be seen that the member I I comprises in effect asheet l5, the thickness of which illustratively may be on the order of Mor or the like, depending upon the material".

employed, the..sheet l5 extending completely from the left-hand edge ofthe member I l to the righthand edge thereof but waved, curved,corrugated, or zigzagged, or otherwise shaped as willbe furtherdescribed hereinafter. In Figure 3 the sheet H is shaped to provide aplurality of plane portions I 5 lying in one plane and to provide aplurality of plane portions l5 preferably similarly dimensioned as theportions l5! but lying in a plane spaced from the plane of the latter,the portions in the respective planes being joined by inclined portionsl5 and Hi The spacing between the planes of the outer faces of theportions l5 and Iii may be'on the order of 2", for example.

At the. left and right-hand ends (the left-hand end in Figure 3 notbeing shown but being the same as the right-hand end), there is providedan end or edge portion l5=, integral, of course, with the sheet IE, butextending preferably at right-angles to the planes of the portions l5"and I 5 the vertical dimension of the portion l5 is, of course, andpreferably, the spacing between the planes of the portions I5 and I5".Preferably the edge portion l5 extends at right angles from one of theoutside plane portions, such as a part of the endmost portion I5 Atsuitable intervals lengthwise of the channels formed,between theconnecting portions |5---l5 that are exposed upwardly, as viewed inFigure 3, I provide transverse ribs or. web-like portions I5 and similarwebs at similar intervals are provided upon the under face of the memberI l, as viewed in Figure 3, and preferably juxtaposed to the web membersIS; in the lower portion of Figure 3, where member I3 is shown and whichis similar in construction as the member II but turned upside down,these bridging web members are better shown and they are indicated at I5At the lower edge of member II, the upper edge being broken away inFigure 3 but appearing as the lower edge in the member I3 in Figure 3(it being remembered that member I3 is the same as member it only turnedupside down), the upper web members l5 and the lower web members I5 arein alinement with each other and with the lower vertical end plane ofthe member like plastic materials-that harden upon drying or upon beingfired, or it may be made of any of the moldable materials earlier abovementioned as illustrative of the materials of which either or both-ofmembers l and I may be made. Inany case-,-the member II is strong,durable, and light in weight, having cross-sections, virtually in anydirection or plane, that are of structural shapes and adapted to meet orsustain stresses of compression, torsion, bending, or the like.Preferably, however, the member II is made A of a fibrous material orcomposition the printhe other, resulting in the production of a shape,

of the kind or character described in Patent cipal ingredient of whichis straw, illustratively 1,760,446 from which the manner of making thismaterial and its facility of molding is sufliciently clear forillustrative purposes herein. That straw or fibrous material is verylight in weight, is strong, fire-resistant, sound-proof, orsounddeadeningrand is a poor conductor of heat.

Members II and I3, thus constructed, are given dimensions as to lengthand breadth commensurate with those of the outside members It] and l4,and the four members l0, ll, l3 and M may v as viewed in Figure 3,engaging thefaces. of

portions l of member i3, with a suitable adhesive interposedtherebetween.

, By such assembly the pockets P in the upper face of member II (Figure3) are closed and 5 hermetically sealed by the member ID and thedownwardly facing pockets P of the member l3 are similarly closed andhermetically sealed by the member l4.

Members II and I3, with members or parts Hi and M respectively assembledthereto as just described, may now be secured to each other with theportions l5 of each secured together by an adhesive, as above-mentioned,but in making this assembly I prefer to interpose between the portionsI5 of the two parts II and H the part I! of Figure 3; part I2 is arelatively thin sheet illustratively of a thickness on the order of V orso and is preferably made of a-relatively strong fibrous material,illustratively fiber-board. a

Accordingly, in this preferred arrangement and still viewing Figure 3,the downwardly exposed faces of portions of member Ii are secured as bythe above mentioned adhesive to the sheet member l2 and the upwardlyfacing portions l5 of the member I3 are secured to the opposite or underface of the sheet member l2.

With the interposing of the sheet I2, I cause the latter to close andseal the downwardly facing pockets P of the member H and the upwardlyfacing pockets P of the member l3 though I may, if desired, omit themember l2, in which case these pockets of the members II and I3 becomenevertheless sealed by the adhesive though, by the omission of memberl2, larger pockets are formed.

It is to be understood that the adhesive is applied not only to theoutwardly exposed faces of portions [5 and l5 in the course of theabovedescribed assembly, but also to the edges of the ribs or webs I5and l5 these edges lying in the plane of the faces of portions I5 andI5), respectively. It is also to be understood that the abovedescribedsequence of assembly need not be adhered to. For example, members H andill or,

members H, I! and I 3 may first be secured to-- gether and thereaftermembers III and I4 applied.

The resultant structural unit, disregarding for the present certainother features later described, is now ready for installation and, whereit is to form a vertical wall portion as distinguished from a ceiling orfloor portion, it is preferred to set the unit so that the portions I5and l5 extend vertically and in such case, the resultant structural unitor the resultant wall made up of a suitable number thereof has ahorizontal cross-section as appears better in thewall portion F ofFigure 2.

Before considering certain other unique aspects of my invention, as thusfar described, reference is now again made to Figure 2 in which, as

above noted, I have shown also an outside wall the unit of Figure 3 andabove described. Ac-

cordingly, and referring to Figure 2 and selecting illustratively theunit H, the member I0 thereof being the weather side of the wall, ismade of any of the materials earlier above mentioned appropriate andsuitable for weather-resisting exposure, whereas member ll may be madeof any such materials earlier above mentioned appropriate to give theinside wall of the room or building the desired characteristics, finish,appearance', or the like. Illustratively, as shown in Figure 2, theoutside member It may be made substantially thicker than the insidemember I. Interposed between members l0 and ii are two sub-assemblies orsub-units, each comprising the members H, 12 and H of Figure 3 buthaving interposed between these sub-units or sub-as-. semblies a sheetmember I2 which may have the physical and structural characteristics ofthe member I! of Figure 3 though, illustratively, it

' maybe thicker, as shown in Figure 2. Of course,

well as of members like members II and I! as may be desired. IAccordingly, the building or structural units will be seen to be capableof easy and rapid assembly and manufacture to meet varying requirementsof practical use, it being noted that throughout standardized and easilyand inexpensively constructable parts or materials are employed.

Furthermore, it is to be noted that I achieve great rigidity ofconstruction accompanied by desirable lightness in weight. Heattransmission is effectively nullified or minimized due to the provisionof the air cells, or air pockets, all sealed, these numerous cellsgiving a honeycomb eifect, and due to the provision'of the peculiarcrosssection or cross-sections which, viewing the wall. F or the wallC-of Figure 2, will be seen to provide exceedingly circuitous or longpaths of small cross-sectionfor any possible flow of heat from the faceof one member ID to the face of the other member'll; to this heatinsulation the preferred material above mentioned to be embodied in themembers II and I3 is a contributing factor,

being per se an exceedingly poor conductor of heat.

Furthermore, the resultant wall structure is substantially sound-proof,not only because of the sealed cellular structure thereof and otherfactors but also because of the character of the preferred materialemployed in the members II and I3, the preferred materials being alsopoor transmitters of sound.

Considering how the assembly of the structural units, reference mayagain be made to Figure 3 and particularly'to members l0 and H thereoffrom which it will be seen, and also by reference to Figure 2, that'theperipheral edges of these members are stepped as at S, preferably on allfour sides in order that they provide tongues and grooves, as indicatedat T in Figure 2, the one receivable within the other. Exact and precisemating of the units, in the course of their as-.

for example, by two men, and that accordingly,.

due to the ease of interfitting and the self-alineasily, inexpensively,but reliably built up.

In Figure -1 I have indicated at A the foundation upon which the outsidewalls B and C are to be laid. Accordingly, I may seat'the structuralunits I, H, G, K and .L, etc., directly upon the foundation A,interfltting the units along their vertical edges, and build, asindicated in Figure l, the wall up by other units superimposed upon thebottom ones and interfitted by the tongue and groove connections T alongthe horizontal mating edges with the lower reach of units, and so on.Or, as already above indicated, the building units may be of a verticaldimension equal substantially to the height of the room or equalsubstantially to the spacings from floor to floor of the building. 1

Also, I prefer to provide what I may term base structure units, asindicated at M, N, O, P, Q, etc., in Figure 1. These units areconstructed as was already above described, excepting that the insidemember I thereof is shaped, molded, or otherwise formed to constitutethe ultimate baseboard of the interior of the room, the units beingtongued and grooved, being otherwise of a thickness like the units G, H,I, etc., but of a height commensurate with the height of the baseboard.

Preferably, and in order to achieve, where desired, certain otherfeatures of coaction, though upwardly.

The parts 10 and I4 of such structural units,

be they base units M, N, 0, etc., or units like L,

K, G, etc., or even units like those of the wall F of Figure 2, are,along their inside faces, grooved or recessed as is indicated in thelower right-- hand part of Figure l, to receive the webs 20* ingfeatures of the construction, the wall may be and 20 of the channel 20,it being understood that these grooves may easily be molded or otherwiseformed in the parts l and I4 during the construction of the latter, justas the stepped or recessed portions S (see Figure 3) that provide thetongues and grooves of the ultimate structure are formed.

Accordingly, the channel iron 20, once appropriately alined and securedto the foundation A, acts also automatically, to aline the structuralunits interfitted with its webs, appropriate cements, or the like, beingemployed, if desired, and thus greater ease of installation andalinement are achieved as well as greater rigidity of construction.

Likewise, and by similarly grooving the members l0 and I4 as, forexample, of the units G, H and I of Figure 2, along their verticaledges, I may interpose, during the assembly of the units, verticalcolumns of I-cross-section, as indicated at 22 and 23 in Figures 1 and2, the I-beams being suitably interfitted with the bottom channel 20 andsecured thereto as by welding, bolting, riveting, or brackets, as isgenerally indicated at 24 in Figure 1. Thus, the I-beams, whereemployed, are completely embedded in the wall structure and take part,aside from the action of the tongue and groove connection between theunits, in vertically alining the units as they are superimposed one uponthe other.

Still referring to Figure 1, when an appropriate height of wall has beenachieved, as, for example, the spacing between fioor and ceiling, I runalong the upper edge of the thus far constructed wall a channel 25similar to the channel .20 above-mentioned but inverted, having itsflanges or webs 25 'and 25 directed downwardly and fitted into thegrooves or recesses provided in the members [0 and I4. Channel 25,extending, like channel 20, throughout several or any suitable number ofbuilding units and along the edges thereof and interlocked therewith,thus assists, when employed, in maintaining the otherwise tongued andgrooved units in appropriate alinement but I prefer to employ thechannel 25 particularly for the purpose of distributing throughout theunits of the wall thus far built and to transmit to the vertical columns.22, 23, etc., when and Where the latter are employed, some of the loadof the floor or ceiling beams, reference now being made to Figure 4wherein two ceiling beams 26 and 21, as illustrative of a numberthereof, are shown resting directly, upon the upper channel 25 and beingsecured thereto in any suitable manner, as by bolting, riveting,

welding, or the like (not shown). It will be understood that, ifdesired, the upper channel member or members 25 (Figure 1) may besecured to the vertical columns 22, 23, etc., when the latter areemployed, in any suitable manner (not shown) for example, in the sameway as the lower channel member or members 20 'are secured thereto as at24 inFigure 1. r

, The beams 26 and 21 are preferably I-beams of a character generallysimilar to the I-cross-section columns 22, 23, etc. (see Figures 1 and2) and they,are spaced apart from each other by distancescommensuratewith the widths of buildumns 22 and 23, etc. are interfitted (see Figure2) with the structural units. as already above described. And thus Ibuild up the flooring or ceiling, it being noted in this connectionthat, as is better shown in Figure 4, the cross-sectional configurationof the unit provides, as already above indicated, arch-like ortruss-like structures well adapted to resist the strains to whichfloorings are subjected.

Furthermore, the units that go into the flooring or ceiling may havetheir upper and lower members, corresponding to the members l0 and Italready described, made of materials appropriate to their respectiveuses; For example, the lower member may be made of a material, asalready indicated, to mate with or contrast with the inside material ofthe other building units that form the walls of the room in question.The

upper member, in elfect the flooring per se of the story above, may bemade of a material such as ce'rnent, artificial stone, sheetstone, orany other material appropriate for direct use as a floor or flooring.

As already above indicated and pointed out, the interfitted joints ofthe various units are preferably also cemented by any suitable cement,adhesive, composition, or the like, and it will be seen that a buildingstructure results of the highest sanitary order, being virtuallyvermin-proof.

It will also be seen that, if desired, the structural steel members,such as the channel irons and columns or like members that are employedwhen desired, may be of any desired weight or strength, depending uponsuch factors as the height to which the building is to be carried.

When my structural units are employed particularly in home building,these structural steel members when employed can beof relatively lightweight for, as will now be clear, the structural units employedaccording'to my invention, are capable of such dependable interaction inthe resultant wall structures that the coaction therewith of thestructural steel members may be dispensed with or be made available toany degree or extent desired. Furthermore, it will be seen that it isalso possible to carry the construction of walls and floors or ceilingsalong concurrently with the erection of the structural steel memberswhen it is desired to embody the latter in the construction. i

As earlier pointed out, the internal parts of the structural units maytake shapes or forms other than those described in connection withFigures 2, 3 and 4 and several illustrative modified forms are shown inFigures 5-8 inclusive.

Turning now to Figure 5, there is there shown on a larger scale aportion of a building unit again embodying the members l0 and i4 abovedescribed in detail but in which the members I l and i3 of Figures 2, 3and 4, insteadlof having the sheet-like portion l5 thereof (see Figure3) shaped as shown in Figure 3, are given the shapes, in cross-section,as shown at Ha and Ba, respectively, in Figure 5, the structure as tothe crosswebs I5 and l5 of Figure 3 being the same in Figure 5. By theshape shown in Figure 5, I am enabled to utilize effectively themechanical advantages of a true arch and I preferably embody also amember 12 like the member I2 of Figure 3.

In Figure 6 another possible constructionis shown embodying again theoutside members l0 and I4 and also members like members II and I3 butshaped in cross-section as shown at II and I3 in Figure 6, againpreferably embodying I therebetween the member l2. The structure ofFigure 6 isotherwise the same as that of Figure .3.

In the structures of both Figures 5 and 6, manyv tages of the structureof Figure'3 are realized and achieved, an :1 the sealed pockets or aircells like-j wise embodied therein. The members I I and I! of Figure 5and ll and it" of figure 6 may be easily molded or produced much thesame as was described above in connection with the parts II and ii ofFigure 3.

In Figures 7 and 8 I have shr wn another possible form of structure inwhich there are again the members l0 and II but interposed therebetweenis a cellular structure generally indicated at 30 and better shown inFigure 8, being made upof a series of members 3| substantially orbroadly speaking corrugated much in the same manner as the parts II,II', l l and I3, l3 and t! of Figures 3,5 and 6, respectively, areshaped in cross-section, but

are stacked one upon the other with intervening strips 32 of a materiallike that as employed in the member I2 of Figure 3, all of the parts 3|and 32 having a dimension in a direction at right two members llliand H(see Figure 7) and secured thereto as by such'a cement or adhesive asabove mentioned, members Ill and i4 closing and sealing the cells orpockets formed between the members 3|, 32, 3|, 32, etc., as seen inFigure 8.

Otherwise, as to the tongue and groove or other slotted or recessedrelations, such as were above I described in detail in connection withFigures 1-4 inclusive, it is to be understood thatthese structuralfeatures are also preferably embodied in the illustrative'modificationsor forms of Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8f I have above described variouspossible materials of which either the outside or inside members orslabs (l0 and/or H of Figure 3, for example, or of Figures 5-8) may bemade, giving, as above indicated, a wide range of adaptability to meetthe particular conditions met with in practice; it is to be understood,however, that either or both of these members or parts may be ofcomposite construction. For example, I may carry the material of whichparts I] and/or l3 of Figure 3 may be made, such as the fibrous or strawmaterial like that of Patent 1,760,446, in whole or in part into eitheror both of the outer members l0 and I. The latter may be made entirelyof such material or an inner thickness or layer thereof may be made ofsuch material and the outer layer or .thickness thereof of some othermaterial, such as cement, glass, ceramics, etc. Furthermore, I mayconstruct my building units with either or both of the outer members illor I4 given any suitable or appropriate rough surface appropriate forthe reception of stucco, plaster, or the like. Dr these members may beappropriately surfaced to receive a coat of paint or other finish, andfor interior walls or partitions, these parts of the building units maybe finished to receive acoat or layer of plaster, or finished to receivepaint, or a layer of tile, or sheet marble, or paper, or textile, orother materials commonly employed for interior decoration, or evento'receive and composition, or other suitable material.

Where an inside wall or partition, such as the wall F of Figure 2, mmabut against another wall, be it an inside or an outside wall,illustratively the wall of Figure 2 'made up of the building units J andI, I prefer to have the building abutting wall F grooved so that theunits of the abutting wall may be set into the groove, as is unit orunits which are to be abutted by the have applied theretopinelingofwood,"

formed in the building units in any other suit-' able or desired way.

Recurring for a moment to the optional feature above described accordingto which structural steel members may or may not be employedinconjunction with my building units. it is to be noted that, where suchstructural steel members are employed, they are, as appear particularlyfrom Figures 1, 2 and 4, effectively and dependably encased or enclosedby the building units withor without the use of a cement, adhesive, orthe like, and they are thus dependably protected against exposure andthe effects thereof .of the elements. Note, for example, how the columns22 and 22 (Figures 1 and 2 are effectively buried in the constructionand the particulardnterlocking or interengaging relations of 1 thecolumns with the building units together with the specificI-cross-section of the columns are to be understood asmerelyillustrative of one of various possible modes of carrying outthese features while retaining the broader features and aspects of myinvention.

Recurring now to Figure 2, it will be noted that,

if the horizontal end webs (see the parts 15' or it of Figure 3) arebroken out, cut-away, or omitted, uniformly throughout the air pocketsor sealed air cells that are alined not only in the other structuralunits that may be alined therewith, there is provided a continuouschannel or passage running vertically of the wall and accordingly I amenabled to utilize such a con tinuous passage for the accommodation ofelectrical circuits, conduits, piping, such as is used ing. I may,therefore, when molding the parts II or l2 of Figures 3, 5 and 6 omitthe crosswebs I5 or Ii in any one channel or run, illustratively asindicated in Figure 3 at W, in the part ll, thus providing acontinuousvertical channel as at the points 'X'in Figure 2.

Such channels or runs, thus. provided, may be utilized not only forpurposes above noted, but

also they may be utilized to function as conduits per se and in thisconnection it is to be noted that certain unique advantages areachieved. Where utilized as such channelsor conduits and particularlywhere the material employed in making up the member or members such' asmembers ll and/or l3 of Figure 3 out of which the walls of the resultantconduit are formed,

is a good heat insulator or a low or poor conductor of heat, I prefer toutilize such conduits for the transmission therethrough of conditionedair, as from a central air conditioning or heating or cooling plant.

45 any given structural unit but also throughout for heating, watersupply, etc., or other plumb- And because of the material forming thewalls 75 of such a continuous conduit, it being understood that I maybreak away or omit portions of the member l2 where desired thereby toincrease the size of the conduit, I may with great efliciency effect adistribution of conditiored air throughout the building, and do sowithout necessitating special or additionalpiping, the continuousconduits being tapped in any suitable manner as by providing appropriateopenings in the outer members of the building units for the emission ofthe conditioned air or for the connection thereto of pipes or conduits.Thus cooled air may be transmitted without the acquisition thereof ofheat and heat may be transmitted without the loss therefrom of heat.

Thus, it will be seen that there has been provided in this invention abuilding construction and structural unit in which the various objectshereinbefore noted, together with many thoroughly practical advantages,are successfully achieved. It will be seen that the units are capable ofstandardized manufacture in quantity production, may utilize inexpensivematerials, yet result in permanence, strength, and durability ofconstruction, not to mention again the facility and inexpensiveness oferection. Moreover, it will be seen that numerous thoroughly practicaladvantages, some of which have been pointed out above, may be realizedeffectively.

As many possible embodiments maybe made of the above invention and asmany changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is tobe understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth, or shown in theaccompany- 2 ing drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and notin a limiting sense.

I claim:-

1. In construction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit of substantial length and breadth and comprising twospaced outer sheet-like members of suitable material, and a plurality ofintervening otherwise openpocketed members respectively secured to eachother and to said outer members, thereby to close the pockets and formsealed air'cells, one or more of said intervening members being made ofa material that is apoor conductor of heat.

2. In construction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit of substantial length and. breadth'and comprising twospaced cuter sheet-like members of suitable material, means interveningsaid two spaced members and made of sheet-like material but repeatedlyreentrant, thereby to form open pockets, and means including cementmeans and said first two members for securing said members and saidmeans together and for closing and sealing said pockets.

3. A construction as in claim 2 in which the intervening means comprisesa plurality of repeatedly reentrant means related face to face to eachother and to the first two mentioned members and having additionalsheet-like means intervening adjacent reentrant means and se curedthereto.

4. In construction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit comprising a sheet-like material to form one face of saidunit and having secured thereto means of plastic fibrous materialmoldedto form a plurality of intervening sealed air pockets in substantiallyhoneycomb formation. I V

5. In construction of the character described, in combination, a wallincluding a structural steel member and building units for interrelationwith said structural steel members, each of said units having two spacedsheet-like members of commensurate area and means of molded fibrousmaterial having the characteristic of being a poor heat conductorintervening said two spaced members and rigidly connected thereto, saidunits having along certain edges thereof grooves for v the reception offlanges of said structural steel member and said intervening means beingdimensioned to accommodate at least a portion of the web of saidstructural steel member.

6. In construction of the character described, in combination, a wall orthe like made up of at least one structural steel member and a pluralityof building units each comprising two spaced members of rigid materialwith means for holding the spaced members in spaced relation, said.spaced members and said holding means being shaped at certain of theiredges to provide, when said units are assembled edge to edge by way ofsaid edges to form the wall, interfitting tongue-like and groove-likeparts, and having certain other of their edges shaped to interfit with aface of said structural steel member.

for holding the spaced members in spaced rela-- tion, a member ofstructural steel cross-section and having flanges but dimensioned to beof lesser thickness than the thickness of said wall, and means providedin edge portions of said building units for the reception of the flangesof said member. v

8. In construction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit comprising a sheet-like member of substantial length andbreadth having related to at least one side thereof a member made ofsheet-like material molded or formed to provide a plurality of pockets,some of which face toward and are closed by said first-mentioned memberand others of which face away from the latter.

9. A building unit as in claim 8 in which the pocketed member, along across-section thereof, has the bottoms of one series of pockets in oneplane and the bottoms of the oppositely facing pockets in another plane.

10. A building unit as in claim 8 in which the pocketed member hasrelated to it means providing. the other face of the unit for closingthe oppositely facing pockets.

11. A building unit as in claim 8 in which the pocketed member hassecured to its side opposite that of the first-mentioned member means,such as relatively thin fiber-board, of good tensile strength, forclosing the oppositely facing pockets.

12. In construction of the character described,

.in combination, a plurality of members of I-crosswith means of cellularconstruction intervening them.

bers in each building unit comprising two correspondingly spaced partsof slab-like material having therebetween means of cellular constructionthat comprises a molded or preformed fibrous I material.

15. In construction of the character described, in combination, a wallmade up of a plurality of building units having extending along an edgethereof a channel-cross-sectioned. member, said;

units each being made of two spaced members of rigid material and meansfor holding them in spaced relation, the end course of building unitshaving longitudinal and spaced recesses extending therealong to receivethe flan es of said channel-cross-sectioned member.

16. In construction of the character described, in combination, a wallor the like made up of a plurality of building units each comprising twospaced members oi rigid material with molded means of lowheatconductivityfor holding them in spaced relation, a member ofstructural steel cross-section extending along the upper edge 'of saidwall and having at least one downwardly directed flange and interiittedwith all of the building units for alining the latter and fordistributing throughout them the load carried by said wall. 1'7. Aconstruction as claimed in claim 16 in which the load carried by saidwall is a ceiling or floor construction, said construction comprisinghorizontallyextending but laterally spaced beams resting at one enduponsaid structural steel member, said beams being flanged, and a pluralityof floor and ceiling units each extending between two adiacent beams andinterlocked with the flanges thereof.

J 18. In ponstruction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit of substantial length and breadth and comprising twospaced outer sheet-like members of rigid material and means securedthereto and holding them in spaced relation comprising a sheet-likematerial that is repeatedly reentrant, simulating corrugations, andhaving means'sub-dividing the channels in said sheet-like material,thereby form-.

' sheet-like material have external faces substantially flat, and meanscoacting between said flat outer sheet-like members of rigid materialand means secured thereto and holding them in spaced relation comprisinga plurality of means of sheet-like material of low heat conductivity,each of said means being repeatedly reentrant, means securing said meanstogether, and means securing each of said outer members to one of saidreentrant means. I

21. In construction of the character described, in combination, abuilding unit of substantial length and breadth and comprising twospaced 'outer sheet-like members of rigid material and means securedthereto and holding them in spaced relation comprising a means ofrelatively small thickness and of a material of low heat con-' ductivitybridged between said two outer members but shaped so that any possiblepath of heat flow from one outer member to the other through saidintervening means is longer than the smallest spacing between said twoouter members.

, 22. A construction as claimed in claim 21 in which the interveningmeans has portions forming a plurality of sealed air cells. 23. Inconstruction of the character described, a building unit comprising twospaced outer sheetlike members of suitable material with means in-.

ty of open pockets on one side thereof and a plu-,

rality of open pockets on the other side thereof, and means securing allof said members together, each outer member closing the otherwise openpockets facing toward it in the relatively thin member next adjacent toit.

24. A construction as claimed in claim 23 in which the interveningmembers of material of low heat conductivity are molded out of a plasticfibrous material.

25. A construction as claimed in claim 23 in which the means whichsecures two intervening members of low heat conductivity togethercomprises sheet-like means extending substantially parallelto said outermembers and closing off the otherwise open pockets of said interveningmembers on one side of the latter.

26. A construction as claimed in claim 23 in which the interveningmembers are at least four I in number and form, in between said outer'members,- a relatively thin-walled-honeycomb-like structure.

27. A construction as claimed in claim 23 in which the interveningmembers are at least four in number and in-which there is provided,extending between two adjacent intervening members, a relatively thinsheet-like member secured to both and closing oil the contiguous pocketsin each,

BERNARD LONDON.

